Wreaking Havoc
by Heart of Daylight
Summary: Rebelling against a tyrannical Empire that killed your mother and enslaves innocent sapients isn't something that can be done peacefully, Jim finds. So he and his friends wreak havoc wherever they can.
1. My Crush Is a Terrorist

**Disclaimer: Trollhunters belongs to Guillermo del Toro, Star Wars belongs to Disney.**

* * *

Claire smiled as her favorite customer came in to the café.

The other workers giggled and nudged each other, waggling their eyebrows at Claire. Shannon put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "I assume you've got this, Claire?"

Claire rolled her eyes. One of her coworkers nudged her and said, "Finally gonna ask this time?"

"I'm working up to it," she muttered. After grabbing a holopad even though she already had his order memorized, she made her way over to his table.

The boy in question was not someone that most people would pursue, being seven and a half feet tall, blue, and horned. But hey, if people thought that Twi'leks were exotic, why couldn't she have this? "Hi, John," she said brightly. He turned to her, his lips ticking up in the smile that Claire had sketched many times. "Can I take your order?"

"That would be great. I'll have the same thing I always do, if you don't mind." His voice was deep and rumbling, as one would expect from someone his size.

Claire marked it down on the 'pad as a crystalline special. The main reason she had gotten a job at this café was because of their ability to serve many unique lifeforms along with the usual humans and near-humans populating the Empire. "Alright, one crystalline special, coming right up."

She stayed there for a second, just staring at him as he gazed out the window into the cosmopolitan sights of Ganthel. Clenching a fist, she tried to force herself to say something, but she stood frozen. Eventually, she sighed, dejected, and walked back to the kitchen.

Her fellow employees were waiting there for her. Shannon waved her arms around wildly, hissing, "What was that?! You had the perfect chance, and you just stood there like a lost shaak!" The others nodded in agreement, the cook even pausing for a moment to nod with them.

"I'll do it when I bring him his drink!" she hissed back.

"Oh, just like how he always notices when you put your number there or doodle hearts all over it? Claire, he's got to be the most oblivious guy in the galaxy! Besides, he's too busy staring at _you_ to notice anything you put on his cup!"

Sighing, Claire just took the full plastoid cup that was placed down on the counter. Confirming that it was John's, she grabbed the marker off her apron and started on her usual decorations. Eventually, she opened the door back to the café. John quickly looked away once she caught his gaze, making her smile. She wasn't stupid or oblivious, she knew very well that John was very much attracted to her. The only problem was Claire's overactive thoughts and John's obliviousness.

"One crystalline special for big blue?" she asked, handing it to him. Their hands brushed, and Claire marveled over how smooth his skin felt.

"That sounds about right. Thanks Claire, you're an angel." John grinned at her, something rare. She thought he might be self-conscious about his teeth, but she didn't feel close enough to ask.

Speaking of asking…

Claire took a deep breath to hype herself up. A brief glance back at the counter revealed all the other employees giving her a thumbs up. She looked back to John, whose gaze hadn't left hers. The realization that he was as tall as her when he was sitting down suddenly hit her, but she pushed through it and opened her mouth. "Hey, would you, uh, maybe later want-"

A hidden earpiece rang. John smiled at her apologetically, saying, "I'm sorry, but this could be important."

Claire nodded, drooping. She took a couple steps away, slightly revitalized when she heard him hiss, "This better be an emergency, Tony."

Then he blinked. "Woah, slow down. Yeah, I can come get you. Where?" John stood up, grabbing the long coat that he had laid under him and swinging it on. "Alright, be there in a few. Don't do anything else, stay on the line."

He walked up to the counter, saying, "Sorry, I've got to run. Friend of mine needs some help." He put down a couple credits on the counter to pay for his drink, then strolled out the door.

Outside was when he started acting suspicious. As Claire watched, he looked both ways, then set off at a brisk pace away from the café, popping the collar of his coat as he went and dropping his head, so his face was partially hidden.

Shannon tapper her shoulder. Claire raised an eyebrow at her, and Shannon raised one back. "Well? Don't just stand here, go get him! We've got things covered here."

Claire smiled, thanking her, then took off her apron and ran after him.

* * *

Jim silently cursed to himself. Why couldn't Toby stay out of trouble for more than a week at a time? He was just about to ask out Claire!

He shoved his hands in the pocket of his long coat, shaking it slightly to confirm that his vibroblades were all still there. "Tobes, where did you say you were?" he muttered.

"Level one-sixteen, sector twelve. Steve just got here. They're busting the gang," Toby whispered.

Jim groaned. "How did they know the deal was today?"

"I don't think they did, it was just dumb luck on their part."

"That's some luck, Tobes."

"We can debate it all we want once I'm not in danger of going to the citadel!" Toby whisper-shouted into the mic.

Rolling his eyes, Jim replied, "I don't think you'd go to the citadel, Toby. That's reserved for the top prisoners that they don't want to have any chance of escape. To them, you're just some random kid, plead wrong place, wrong time if they find you before I get there."

Toby was silent for a bit before he asked, "Are you going to kill Steve?"

He barked out a laugh. "Kill an ISB agent? Are you insane?"

"Okay, good. Just making sure we remembered that." His best friend sounded much more relieved than he should have.

Sighing, Jim said, "Toby, he's not on our side anymore. One day, we might have to."

"I know, Jim. I just… can we put that off for as long as we can?"

He smiled wanly, even though Toby couldn't see it. "Sure."

He stepped into a tram taking him down to Toby. The people already aboard parted around him warily, making him sigh. The Empire's xenophobia had far too much influence on its civilians.

It was one of the main reasons he liked Claire so much. She saw him as a unique gem, not an intimidating alien as most Imperials did.

Jim grabbed hold of one of the hanging handles, even though he probably wouldn't need it. Scanning out the windows, he tried to spot anywhere that there was a buildup of Imperial activity. Eventually, he found it, just when the tram was about to stop.

Stepping off the Tram, Jim swiped a large hat off another passenger. Before they could figure out who took it, he set off in a brisk walking pace towards sector twelve. He kept his head down as much as he could, letting the hat cover his horns and face. He slapped his wrists, assuring himself that he still had his vambraces on, then stuck his hands back in his pockets. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use them.

As the dim scenery passed him by, Jim could swear that he heard footsteps following him. A covert glance behind him revealed nothing though, and a cautionary sniff only filled his senses with the smell of carbon and smoke.

He stopped outside an alleyway, casually leaning against it. "Toby, I'm ready to come in if you need me."

"Actually, it looks like they're just about to leave. Well, Steve is. It looks like some stormtroopers are sticking around to mop things up."

Jim clenched a fist. A vibroblade shot out of his vambrace, sharp as ever. "I think I can take a couple stormtroopers."

"Oh, believe me, I know. Do you have your saber on you?" Toby whispered in a hopeful tone.

He snorted. "That would be incredibly stupid."

"Until you actually need it. What is it that you always say? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it?"

"Oh, don't you start, Toby. I'm not the one who needs saving right now." Jim patted his coat, making sure that his pistols were where he left them. "Alright, tell me when Steve is gone for good."

He waited for two minutes before Toby said, "You're in the clear."

Jim began to inch through the alleyway, peeking his head out just enough to be able to see where the stormtroopers were. Noting nine of them, a full squad, he turned his attention to finding Toby. He couldn't see many hiding spots, until his eyes locked on a mag-lev dumpster. "Tobes, are you in the dumpster?" He could barely keep from laughing.

"Yeah, laugh it up! What would you have done mister 'I always have everything under control?'" Toby hissed.

"Not get caught." Jim waited for a stormtrooper to come close to the alley that he was in. As soon as he was in range, he grabbed the trooper by the shoulder and ejected his vibroblade through the back of his neck. The stormtrooper wasn't even able to realize what was happening before he was dead. Gently laying his body down further in the space, Jim returned to the mouth of the alley.

No one else was coming near him, so Jim sighed. He strolled out into the open, hands in the pockets of his long coat. Almost immediately, a stormtrooper shouted, "Hey, this is an active Imperial investigation! Put your hands where I can see them!"

Jim blinked, acting surprised. "What? I'm so sorry, officer. Please, I had no idea!"

"You don't even have your armor?!" Toby hissed.

"Verd ori'shya beskar'gam, Tobes." He said, grinning at the stormtrooper that had walked up to him.

He sprung into action, grabbing the trooper and spinning him around. The laser bolts slammed into his body, making the trooper scream in agony before he was abruptly silenced by a shot to the head. Meanwhile, Jim pulled out his T-6 Thunderer in his free hand, incinerating the head of one of the others. There was a brief lull as two of the troopers dived for cover, and Jim crouched lower behind his human shield and blasted a hole through the chest of another trooper while the remaining three tried to flank him.

With a roar, Jim charged at the trooper closest to him, slamming into him with the body of his fellow soldier and cracking through his armor. Jim's fist crashed into the disoriented trooper's helmet, shattering the flimsy plastoid and killed him near instantly.

Taking the body in one hand, barely had time to lift it up before a salvo of blaster bolts sprayed his position. Jim rolled his eyes at the typical stormtrooper aim before chucking the body at two of the soldiers that had grouped up, knocking them down like bowling pins. Before they could get back up, Jim put a bolt through each of their chests.

Several other blaster shots sounded, making Jim hit the deck. However, when nothing hit him or streaked by him, he looked over to the side and saw Toby with his mask on standing in the dumpster, a smoking blaster in his hand. Jim walked over and peered over the debris that the two stormtroopers had been using for cover, seeing that they were both peppered with smoking holes. He nodded. "Nice job, Tobes."

His short friend huffed. "I am not cut out for this kind of stuff, Jimbo. I'm the pilot, not the über-warrior that you are!"

"Then why don't we get you back to the ship? We should probably make sure that no one-"

He was cut off as powerful lights came on, blinding them both. Jim growled, lifting an elbow to shelter his eyes and grabbing Toby to swing him onto his back. "Ah, ah, ah," A familiar voice sounded over loud speakers. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Haar'chak!" Jim swore under his breath. He was glad that he had kept his hat, since it kept them from seeing his face. Pricking his ears, Jim was able to her at least three different vehicles, all of them probably chock full of officers.

"We were very grateful to the Naarin gang when they told us that they were making a deal with rebels. Enough to let them free, in fact. They were all to happy to tell us everything they knew about you. So, why would you need components critical to long range communications?" Steve was just as smug as Jim remembered him being, even when he hadn't really done anything to be smug about. Like catching them for instance. He remembered well enough where the alleyways were, and he bet that he could move faster through the narrow space than they could track him.

Jim whispered to Toby under his breath, saying, "If you talk, he might recognize your voice. I know it'll be hard, but keep the sarcasm to a minimum, will you?"

"I'm glad that all three of you were willing to come forth. The Empire values your service," the ISB agent continued in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Wait, three?" Toby asked.

Jim's eyes flicked behind them, well enough adjusted to the light that he could see a very familiar silhouette in the light. He groaned. "Okay, Tobes, you're going to have to hold on yourself."

His friend's arms tightened around his neck and he hooked his legs around his torso. "Ready," he whispered.

Without warning, Jim launched off the ground, flipping behind him. He grabbed Claire, ignoring her yelp of terror, and cradled her in his arms. He kept charging forward, getting into the alleyway behind them just as the blaster bolts hit the ground where they just were.

"After them, you idiots!" Steve screamed. Jim ducked down, halting all his motion for a second. He listened to the vehicles thunder over him, then immediately turned around and sprinted the way that they came.

"Toby, what level are we on?" Jim yelled as he ran. Claire continued to scream every time he turned a corner, which was starting to make him nervous.

"What? We're on one-sixteen!" Toby yelled back at him.

"Not us, the ship!

"Say that next time! One-twelve, sector eight!"

After another sharp turn and another scream, Jim had had enough. "Claire, stop screaming! I'm trying to save your life!"

She was silent for a second, then yelled, "You're a rebel?!"

"I thought that was rather obvious at this point! Can we talk about this later?!"

"Are you kidnapping me? Do I know too much? Please don't kill me!"

"Later!" Jim yelled again.

Toby yelled, "What Jim means to say is, we're the good guys, and as long as you're with us, you're not in danger!"

"Then why are you kidnapping me?!"

"By the force, Jim, this is who you can't stop talking about?" Toby muttered. Jim rolled his eyes. "Steve had you pegged for a rebel, so now you're a criminal! Welcome to the Empire, they don't care about you or anyone else!"

Claire wisely shut her mouth after that, letting Jim breathe a sigh of relief. He continued leaping around, keeping an ear out for the Imperial vehicles as he raced back towards their ship.

* * *

Just outside the docking bay, Jim set down Claire and knelt so that Toby could get off his back. He looked around, trying to find any cameras that could be spying on them, but found no one. Shrugging off his long coat and giving his hat to Toby, he strode forward confidently, only slightly out of breath.

Once inside the docking bay, his attention was drawn by Claire's gasp. He and Toby looked at her strangely, and she quickly grew red. "Sorry," she stuttered. "I've just never seen so many different non-human species together."

"You live in the city," Toby deadpanned. "What do you expect?"

"C'mon," Jim muttered. "Let's get out of sight." He put a hand on each of their shoulders, feeling how Claire's body tensed.

The direction he took them in was close to the mouth of the bay, where a quick escape was available should they need it. The ship that Claire saw awaiting them wasn't quite the shining vehicle she was expecting.

It was a wide ship with a flat underbelly and a defined incline from its center to just before its wings, where it sloped back upwards. Each wingtip sported large cannons, along with swiveling turrets both on top and underneath. There were vents going along the front of the ship to its wings, and the general design sloped backwards. The entire ship was painted an ash color with gold, spiraling patterns all over it.

"You like her?" Toby asked, herking a thumb at it and grinning. "The only girl I can actually call mine. Prototype Nubian Scurrg H-6 Bomber. Her name is the _Havoc_, and she is the only one of her kind. Probably because we took it off of some pirates who stole it from the shipyard after they destroyed the schematics. And then we never gave back the schematics. Which it doesn't really resemble anymore after all the modifications. But, hey! One of a kind!"

Claire raised her eyebrows at him before looking to Jim. "Why would you take a ship from pirates?"

He knocked on the bottom of the ship, and shortly after, the boarding ramp began to descend. "Bounty. They didn't really need it anymore, and we needed a ship after we lost _Daylight_."

"Bounty?" Claire blinked. "You're a bounty hunter _and_ a-"

Jim clapped a hand over her mouth and gave her a look. "Probably not something you should just throw out there, especially where there might be people paid to eavesdrop."

Once she nodded, he took his hand off and gestured towards the ramp. "Now, do you want some answers?"

Claire hesitated for a second. She could just walk away, go back to her classes and her café job and not be labeled a criminal. Or she could stick around for a little bit and learn something new that wasn't academic and had an iota of excitement to it.

She made her decision quickly and nodded resolutely, stepping onto the ramp and pulling herself up.

It was a quaint little ship that greeted her. The place she entered seemed to be some sort of storage room with a high roof and lockers on the walls with plenty of crates scattered around, normal for a freighter. Toby came up next to her, Jim following close behind. The ramp lifted up behind them, closing them all in.

"Okay," Jim said. "Why don't we get to the living area and then we can talk?"

The living area was pretty standard; a holotable with plenty of apps, a kitchenette, cushioned seats, a couple counters and drawers with various things inside them. The walls were a grey color and the floor was a shining black.

Claire was seated at the holotable, which Jim had pulled a chair over to and Toby had slid in on the other side. Jim tapped something, bringing up the logo. "So," he started, laying his hands on the table. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are we letting her ask the questions, Jimbo? Shouldn't we be asking her why she followed you?" Toby gestured wildly, trying to accentuate his point.

"He keeps calling you Jim," she said. "Is that your real name?"

He nodded. "My name is unfortunately in the Empire's database as a high-value target." Toby shot him a look, but Jim just rolled his eyes. "Which is why I won't be telling you my last name. And no, I didn't commit any major crimes other than existing to get there."

"That seemed like a pretty major crime you committed today." Claire stared him down, crossing her arms.

"Yes, well, Toby is a bit more important to me than lying low, even if I did wish that he could stay out of trouble more than he does."

"How was I supposed to know that Steve would show up?" he complained.

"Toby did raise a good question, though. Why did you follow me?"

"Well, I was going to ask you out, but I'm not so sure about that anymore," Claire muttered. Then realized what she said and slapped a hand over her face.

Jim blinked. "You were?"

Toby huffed. "That's beside the point, Jimbo. What do we do with her now? She was in full view in the spotlight, the Empire has her face."

Claire looked up, alarmed. "What do you mean they have my face?"

Toby tapped something into the holotable. A wanted poster with her face sprung up, showing her crimes as 'High Treason against the Galactic Empire' and listing a large fee for her capture, alive. "The Empire doesn't mess around with rebels anymore. It's the worst crime you can commit nowadays, ranking above all others."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything! This can't be real; the Empire is a just government!" Claire slammed her hands on the table.

The other two looked at her incredulously. "Do you not remember the Jedi Purge that marked the beginning of the Empire?" Toby asked. "How about all the slavery that's happening in the spice mines? The forceful conquering of planets that refuse Imperial rule?"

"The Jedi betrayed the Supreme chancellor, and what slavery are you talking about? The Empire was the one that wiped out Kotaska when they got to Ganthel! They wouldn't suffer slavery!" Claire snorted, and pointed a finger in his face. "You're lying, you have to be!"

She pushed herself up, running to the door of the ship. When it didn't open, she spun around, glaring at the tired looking Jim and the exasperated countenance of Toby. "Let me out!" She yelled. "I don't know what this is, but I want no part of it. My parents are probably going insane, thinking that I'm a terrorist like you two!"

"Now listen here-" Toby started, only to be cut off by Jim's raised hand.

"Let her go, Blinky."

The door opened in front of her, allowing her to take a cautious step out. She looked back, meeting Jim's gaze. After a moment, he sighed and said, "K'oyacyil."

A glance at Toby prompted him to say, "In this case, it means stay alive. And seriously, please do. I don't want to have to deal with Jim being a mopey mess again."

Claire nodded, and stepped out.

* * *

Knocking on her door, Claire assured herself that the two boys were wrong.

She had gotten back to the top levels of the city with no problems at all. No one stopped her, no one stared and pointed; everything seemed fine. Sighing to herself, Claire realized that she might have to report Jim and Toby.

Why did the only guy who had shown a good interest in her have to turn out like this?

When no one responded after a minute, Claire frowned and knocked again. She tried the doorbell, just to be safe. Still, no one came to answer the door. Claire set her hands on her hips, glaring at the door. "Would it kill you to answer the door for your own child?" she hissed.

Claire pulled out her commlink, dialing her parents. Neither of them picked up. She started to grow alarmed. They always answered their comms, no matter what.

Without warning, the door slammed open, police officers swarming out. Several stepped out from behind walls and various hiding places around her. Every one of them either had a blaster or a baton, and all of them were pointed at her. "Claire Nuñez," A blonde man in the uniform of an ISB agent said as he stepped out of her house. "Surrender immediately, and perhaps you can have a lessened sentence."

She held up her hands, not knowing what else to do. Two officers came forward, forcing her down to her knees, making her grunt in pain at their impact. One of them pulled out a pair of binders, slapping them on her wrists. When she looked up again, she was shocked to see her parents in the doorway of her house.

Her father stared at her, gaping, looking around helplessly. His hands twitched, as if he wanted to do something, but he had no idea what. Her mother, on the other hand…

Her mother was the very picture of a cold-hearted glare. The blonde man turned to her parents, saying, "The Empire thanks you for your cooperation, Governor Nuñez. Your loyalty is to be commended."

"Absolutely, Agent Palchuk," her mother responded. "I will suffer no traitors, within my household or without." She turned her back on her daughter, closing the door behind her.

Claire averted her gaze, too shocked to do anything about the tears that stung her eyes. The feeling of betrayal consumed her, leaving her lifeless. She knew her mother was dedicated, but to sell out her own daughter without a word?

She hadn't even done anything!

"Well, Ms. Nuñez," Palchuk said as he knelt down to her level. He took hold of her chin, tilting her head to look into her eyes. "Or rather, just Claire now. The name Nuñez is no longer yours, after your mother struck you from the family tree."

A numbness spread throughout Claire's body. Jim and Toby were right. And now, she got to reap the consequences.

"Now, why don't you tell us about your rebel friends?"

* * *

"What's your plan, Jimbo?"

Jim glanced up at Toby, who sat at the holotable as he was cooking. "Hmm?"

"I know you. You wouldn't just let someone run headlong into death, and you definitely wouldn't let them threaten your friends with exposure," Toby pointed a holographic wand at him. "So, what's your plan?"

"Well, you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved," Jim said as he chopped up the starfruit on the cutting board. "Also, I seem to remember us going after the prison for a different reason."

Toby nodded slowly. "You're waiting until she's where we'll be going anyways, so we can get two birds with one stone. Okay. But how will we know when she's arrested?"

"Are you kidding me? It's the Empire. They'll start gloating as soon as they get her."

As if on cue, the holotable lit up red, and Governor Nuñez appeared on screen. "Approximately an hour ago, a rebel traitor was captured when she sought asylum at my own household. The audacity of these rebels has been allowed to grow for too long. She is being interrogated for information on those with her as we speak. If any other traitors are listening, I urge you to come forward now. Your sentence will be lessened with compliance, and we will find you regardless. Choose the easy way out."

Toby started laughing. "Not likely, lady."

A metallic voice came on over the comms. "I assume that I should find the best course to the prison, Master Jim?"

"Hey, I pilot this ship," Toby said to the comms. "And yes, Blinky, plot the course. I'll be up there in a second. Also, do me a favor and get Aaarrrgghh! to load the proton torpedoes. I get the feeling we'll need them."

"Well, you know what they say, Tobes," Jim said brightly as he dumped the starfruit pieces into the fridge. When Toby looked up at him, he continued. "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur."

"It's a good day for someone else to die? Is that actually a Mandalorian saying or are you messing with me?" Then Toby tapped his chin. "Actually, that's a pretty Mandalorian thing to say. I'll believe it."

Jim grinned, and stepped out of the kitchen, taking off his apron as he went. He had to change.

* * *

Claire was silently crying in the cell that they had put her in.

It was so dark in here. They had neglected to turn on any lights, or even take off her binders, leaving her hands bound behind her back. She hadn't seen or heard anyone yet, but maybe that was part of the tactics to get her to talk.

Well, the joke was on them because she didn't know anything. Now that she knew that Jim was telling the truth, there was no way that she would sell him out. What else had Toby said? Slavery and the Jedi Purge?

When the Republic had been organized into the Galactic Empire almost fourteen years ago, Claire had been six. Since then, she was always taught that the Republic was an evil, corrupt institution, and that the Imperial reformation was the best thing that could have happened. The Empire was a just, righteous institution, ridding the galaxy of the criminal Jedi and bring order where there was before.

But now, Claire wasn't sure what to believe. Her own mother had betrayed her over a crime that she hadn't even committed, and now she was about to be interrogated for information she didn't have.

The door slid open, temporarily blinding her at the activation of the lights inside her cell. As she squinted, three silhouettes entered through the door, and a floating, whirring ball passing over their heads.

Her blood ran cold. That sound was a common one in the horror vids she would watch on late nights with her friends, and she knew perfectly well how it worked and what it could do. She wasn't scared anymore. She was terrified.

"Please," she stuttered. "I don't know what you think I know, but I'm not a rebel! I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Oh, it's going to be like that, is it?" The agent scoffed. "You'd think someone so brave as to defy the greatest power in history could at least have enough of a backbone to not beg before they've even felt the pain."

The IT-O Interrogator droid's needle arm extended, and its whirring got louder. "Besides," the man said. "The screams are the best part."

Then the door to the room blew inwards, slamming into the agent's back and flattening the droid against the wall. The two stormtroopers barely had time to bring their guns around before a giant decked out in full black and red Mandalorian armor jumped in, grabbed their heads, and smashed them together. He stepped over their bodies, stopping in front of Claire and peering down at her.

Somehow, Claire didn't feel any better staring down a horned Mandalorian than she did staring down an interrogation droid.

Then, the warrior sighed and reached up to his. He lifted it up, careful to slide it along his horns. Before long, Jim was looking down at her, and after a moment, knelt down to get on her level.

Claire scrabbled away from him as best as she could, still in a state of overwhelming terror. "Hey, hey, it's me, Jim," he said putting his hands out in front of him. "Why don't I get you out of here? I hear these places aren't too good for your health."

She said nothing, but she wasn't scrambling to get away from him anymore. Jim tried to crane his neck to look behind her and cursed when he noticed that the binders were still on. "I don't have anything to take those off with here, but I can get those off in my ship."

At her hesitant nod, Jim asked, "Can I take you there?"

She nodded vigorously. Jim stood up, sliding his helmet back on and pulling his pistol out of his thigh holster. He gently wrapped an arm around her and carefully slung her over a shoulder. "Then let's move."

Claire stared at the sight from behind him as he dashed through the halls, only seeing fallen forms of stormtroopers left in his wake. Another crack sounded, followed by a short yell. Then she heard Jim curse as he jerked to the side, dodging a bolt. His weapon cracked again, and Jim shook it in the air. "What are you doing?" Claire asked incredulously.

"T-6 Thunderer. Biggest pistol out there, best firepower, but it overheats easily. I would rather look stupid than have my gun explode on me in the middle of a fight."

Claire yelped as he swung around again, taking a sharp turn. "C'mon, Toby," he muttered to himself. "Are you going to wait until the entire legion is here?"

"What do you mean? Why isn't Toby here right now?" Claire asked desperately.

"Well, we're here for two reasons." Jim's pistol cracked again, and she heard a yell that was quickly cut off. "You, and information on the slave transport that we learned about a couple days ago."

"You weren't lying about the slavery," she muttered. It was a hard thing to wrap her head around, that she had been supporting a slaving institution for most of her life.

"Unfortunately, no. We didn't lie about anything." Jim spun around, leaving her facing a wall. "Okay, Toby, any second now would be great."

"You're pointing me at the wall that's going to explode?!" Claire yelped. She started wriggling on his shoulder, trying to spin around.

She heard the pistol crack twice. "Toby'll tell me before he blasts it, don't worry. Just give him a minute, he'll be here. In the meantime, well, hukaat'kama."

"I don't speak Mandalorian!" Claire yelled.

"It's called Mando'a! I said watch my back!"

"Hah hah, very funny!"

A second later, Jim tugged her down from his shoulder, enveloping her with his body. Then she almost went deaf with the explosion that rang the building.

She tried to shake the ringing out of her ears, but all that remained of the sounds around her was a dull roar. Jim slung her back over a shoulder, then she saw the hall of the prison rapidly growing smaller.

Just as Claire realized that Jim jumped out a building on a metropolitan planet, she jerked to a stop, and the outside disappeared as her savior climbed down a hatch into the _Havoc_. The stars were moving rapidly even before he closed the hatch above them and finished his descent.

The ringing in her ears was starting to disappear, just as Jim set her down on something cushioned. She immediately rolled onto her side, not pleased with the way the binders dug into her back. "Are you going to get these off?" she asked, finally able to hear her own voice again.

A thunk sounded from behind her, and Jim asked, "Toby, where's the – never mind, found it! Alright Claire, just give me a second, and I'll have those right off. You might feel a slight burning, but it's fine."

"A slight – what are you taking them off with?!" She tried to turn her neck to see, but Jim's now bare head was in the way.

A second later, Claire felt the binders pop open, and she happily jerked her hands out of them and started to rub her wrists. Jim put them on the holotable and asked, "Toby, what's our ETA?"

"We've got to lead them off first, so probably a few hours. Monitoring comms for activity, but they didn't catch the _Havoc_ until it was too late to get a visual, so we should be safe," his voice answered from the ceiling.

"Did we get the info?"

"Yeah, but we almost didn't get back out. Blinky's gonna need some work on his lower right arm when we get back."

Jim nodded. "Good work. Blinky, we'll get Eli to look at you. Thanks for risking yourself."

"Saving those Bodach'I will be thanks enough, Master Jim." Claire jerked at the voice of a protocol droid, raising an eyebrow at Jim.

He held up a hand. "I'll explain later. For now, I think you should get some rest. Today was a pretty big change in your life. Can I show you to your room?"

Claire dropped her wrists, then nodded. "I think I'd like that."

Jim smiled, gesturing to a hallway. "Right this way, ma'am. Welcome to the _Havoc_."

* * *

**C'mon, Jim's always the badass warrior. He'd definitely be a Mandalorian.**


	2. Cin Vhetin

**Disclaimer: Trollhunters belongs to Guillermo del Toro, Star Wars belongs to Disney.**

* * *

Drifting into consciousness was a strange feeling for Claire.

She wasn't exactly aware, but something felt off. Attempting to burrow beneath the covers didn't help, and when Claire tried to drag her pillow down with her, she came into contact with a pillow that wasn't hers.

Bolting upright, she opened her eyes, surveying a spartan room with no decorations. The walls were a familiar gray, and the sheets covering her were a stark white. It was not her room. Only when her feet touched the ground did she remember why she was not in her room.

For a few moments, Claire did nothing. She sat on the bed, feeling the depths of the pain and betrayal inflicted upon her. The look on her mother's face was etched in her mind; filled with contempt and loathing, and so much disappointment. Tears pricked at her eyes again, but Claire wiped them away and tightened her eyes.

She had already cried and felt bad for herself, it was time to do something about it.

Claire pushed herself up from the bed and walked over to the door, peeking her head out. There were faint voices coming from the end of the hallway, so she shrugged to herself and walked over to it.

Jim was cooking something with a wonderful aroma at the kitchenette with an apron thrown over his armor, while Toby was seated at the holotable in sleep clothes along with something giant and furry. Claire gasped when she realized that it was a wookie, and that was what drew attention to her. A metallic, four-armed being also turned to her, holding up its arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Ah, you must be the fair Claire that Master Jim has told us so much about." Its voice was echoing, an indicator of an old vocabulator, but it carried an undercurrent of wisdom and knowledge. Its back was stooped over, and it limped in an uneven gait over to her. Six eyes blinked on and off, but it didn't seem to impair the droid at all. Claire took a step back as it approached, questioning as to whether the droid's processors were bugged.

"It might help if you were to introduce yourself," Jim piped up at its sudden halt, flipping something in a pan.

"Ah, of course. I am a Mark III Architect Droid Professor, given the name Blinky by the Jedi that I used to teach." He held out his lower right hand for her to shake, and Claire took it tentatively.

"He might seem a little spacey, but he's one of the smartest droids ever built," Toby said. He paused to yawn and stretch. "Plus, he's accumulated a lot of knowledge over two thousand years. Only problem is that it's hard to find replacements for anything he breaks, since he's so old. Aaarrrgghh! and Eli normally have to cobble something together themselves."

Jim flicked off the stove that he was cooking over, dropping the flat thing he had cooked onto several like it on a platter. He lifted the platter into one hand and three plates in the other, depositing a plate in front of Toby and the wookie and setting the last on the opposite side of the holotable. He deposited three of the flat pastries on Toby's plate, eight on the wookie's plate, and two on the last plate. "That one's for you, Claire."

She looked to Toby and the wookie, who were already digging in. Toby especially was wolfing it down, and she wondered how his short body could eat that fast. Claire slid into the seat that Jim had indicated, asking, "What are you going to eat?"

"I've already eaten," Jim said. He pointed to the wookie and said, "By the way, this is Aaarrrgghh!. We busted him out of a slave ship a couple years back, and he's been the heavy lifter around here since then."

"Hi?" she said, not knowing if he could understand her.

He gave a warbling roar, making Claire look around in confusion. Blinky answered her unspoken question, saying, "He said that he looks forward to working with you."

"Working with me?"

"I told you guys not to assume anything," Toby muttered. "She's an Imperial snowflake, not a hero."

"Excuse me?" she said, disbelief evident in her voice. Was he insulting her?

"Knock it off, Toby." Jim gave him a look, but Toby just shrugged. He sighed, but then said to Claire, "I know it's a bit early, but since Aaarrrgghh! brought it up-"

The wookie rumbled, but Jim waved him off. "No, you're good. Since he brought it up, you've got two choices."

"For what?" Claire asked, taking her first bite out of the pastry. Then she blinked and took a second. "This is really good."

"Thank you," Jim said brightly. "The choices, though, are for your future. You can't go back to the city unless you wanted to hide in the underworld, and you're not cut out for that. No offense."

"None taken," Claire said around a full mouth. Wordlessly, Toby handed her a bottle of a brown substance. She took a curious look at it, then saw that Toby and Aaarrrgghh!'s pastries had it drizzles over them. Shrugging, she followed their lead.

"So, the first choice is that we let you off here."

"Where is here?" she asked, swallowing the last bite of her first pastry. She quickly moved onto the second.

"Defiance. It's a makeshift village of various rebels and revolutionaries, hidden in the Ganthel outback. Probably the best hidden settlement out there, to be honest."

Toby rolled his eyes. "What he always forgets to say is that we're the only reason the place is still standing."

Claire looked over to Jim, silently asking for elaboration. A small grin stretched over his tusks, and he said, "We do supply runs and fill out bounties to keep the place running."

"Y'know, we could always just ask Mary to fund it."

"Mary already does more than she should to not risk exposure. I don't think she can throw around the kind of money to keep the life of a village together without being noticed, Tobes." Jim slipped his apron off, folding it and gently placing it in a compartment.

"Mary?" Claire repeated with disbelief. "You don't mean-"

"Princess Mary, first cousin to the crown prince of Ganthel?" Toby said. "Yeah, we do."

"She's a rebel?"

"Unlike most, she's both not blind, and not corrupt enough to ignore injustice when she sees it. Even if she's only half Twi'lek, she still holds to her roots, and the slavery of her people appalls her. Really, though, everyone should be angry at the slavery of another sapient, no matter what species they are," Jim said narrowing his eyes at something far away.

Claire swallowed thickly. "I had no idea."

Toby burped and wiped his mouth, his plate empty. "Yeah, most don't. The Empire has very good censors and complete control of the media. How do you think they got the word about you out so quickly?"

She shook her head, pressing the heels of her hands into her temples. "I'm sorry, it's just – I was raised on the belief that the Empire was necessary, especially after the corruption of the Republic. To think that the institution I've supported all my life has been doing all this behind the galaxy's back… It's sickening."

Aaarrrgghh! roared loudly and slammed his fist into the holotable, making the lights on the table flicker. Claire jerked up, more than slightly intimidated by the giant being more than capable of pulling her arms off. Blinky warbled something back at him in his own language, and Aaarrrgghh! drew back, pulling his arms around himself and groaning softly.

Toby ran a hand over the fur on his neck, scratching carefully. It seemed to calm him down, and Jim quietly said to her, "The wookies are the main slave species of the Empire. They have lots of children and a reputation for strength and endurance, making them the ideal spice miners. Aaarrrgghh!'s tribe is almost completely gone, taken to various places over the galaxy. He took an oath of non-violence, swearing that he would never do to another being what was done to him. Sometimes, he gets a little worked up, but he would never hurt you."

Taking in the scene before her, the wookie crumpled in on himself and the short boy trying to comfort him, Claire's heart broke. She nodded to Jim, then asked, "Can I see Defiance?"

"Of course," he said. He grabbed his helmet, tucking it under his arm, and moved to the door. "Follow me, I'll show you around."

* * *

Looking around, Claire wasn't sure what she expected from a village of rebels, but it wasn't this.

Barely-held-together shacks made of scrap metal were the buildings of the village. Claire shuddered to think about living in them, but as she watched, a laughing child ran out of one of the houses, closely followed by an exasperated mother holding a much younger child on her hip. They both stopped when they saw Jim, but a second later, the child hollered, "Mando'ad! Mando'ad is here!"

Jim rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face betrayed his true feelings. "Well, there went the plan of a quiet tour," he said.

Several more children opened their doors, their eyes lighting up when they caught sight of the giant next to her. They all started making their way over, and Claire caught sight of one holding a blue doll with horns. Her eyebrows rose, and she looked over to Jim, who had knelt down to get down to their level. He was still much taller than any of them, though.

"Good pronunciation, Tulan, but it would be haar Mando'ad. Otherwise, you're just saying Mandalorian is here."

"Mom said you dropped off supplies last night and you probably wouldn't be coming back out!"

"Yes, well, this time I brought a new friend." Jim stood up and gestured to Claire. "This is Claire Nuñez. Welcome her to the town."

"Welcome to Defiance, Claire!" many tiny voices chorused. Jim laughed, then tried to shoo them away.

"Are you Jim's girlfriend?" a small voice asked at her ankle. Claire blinked down at the little girl with the Jim doll, her face growing hot.

"Um, no, we're just… friends." If she could even call him that.

"Good. Jim's _my_ hero," the girl said, cradling the doll.

Claire knelt down to get on the same level as the girl. "And why is that?"

"He didn't let the bad men who took my parents away take me away."

At that statement, Claire frowned. She looked closer at the child and was alarmed to find burn marks covering the girl's left face and arm. As she turned her attention to Jim, she found a sight that she wouldn't forget for a long time.

The children were using him like a miniature playground, laughing and hopping all over him. There was a boy sitting on his shoulders and clinging to his horns like handles, while another tried to knock him off. The Mandalorian lifted an arm, pulling up three giggling children like they weighed nothing. The way they clung to Jim as parents stood on their porches and laughed gave rise to something in Claire. Something she had never felt before. These were families, just trying to live their lives. They hadn't done anything wrong.

A resolve formed inside Claire. She would help these people, or she would die trying.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Jim said, taking the boy off his shoulders and setting him on the ground. "I've got to show Claire around the village now. You kids be good to your parents, okay? Keep an eye on everything for me."

As they all went back to their parents, Jim held a hand out to her. Claire took it without hesitation, coming to stand at his side. "They really like you."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'm the only one who really leaves this place nowadays, so I guess I'm a breath of fresh air."

"That's not what I heard," she said as Jim began to pull her along. "I had one girl tell me that it was good that I wasn't your girlfriend, because you were _her_ hero."

She was happy to notice that his eyes flicked about rapidly, and he stuttered, "R-really? Which one was that?"

"Aw, can the big, bad Mandalorian not handle a little girl with a crush?" Claire purred, squeezing his hand.

"Hah hah," he muttered. "I remember handling yours just fine."

"You stared at me every time I turned around."

Jim grumbled something under his breath. Claire took another breath, pleased that they could talk about it with minimal awkwardness so far. "About that… whole thing. Um, what do we-"

"Cin vhetin," Jim said, cutting her off.

"What does that mean?" she asked, grateful that he hadn't left her stuttering.

"Uh… white field? I mean it like, start over, try again with old notions left behind."

"You mean a blank slate?" A tiny smile formed over Claire's face.

"Probably," he said. "I'm better with Mandalorian proverbs. Never learned the Basic ones. Toby's usually pretty good at translating them.'

They had stopped in something akin to field, facing each other. Claire had to look far up to get to his eyes, and holding each other's hands was difficult, but they still managed. "I think I can do that."

"Great," Jim smiled at her. He held up one of their conjoined hands, saying, "Hi. My name is James of clan Ordo."

"My name is Claire Nuñez," Claire said, staring at their hands. "It's nice to meet you."

* * *

Once they were back on the ship, Claire caught Jim's hand again. "I've made my choice."

"I haven't even given you your other option," Jim said, amusement clear in his tone.

"Well, if it's not staying aboard the _Havoc_, then I don't want it. I think I've found something here, something important. It's like I'm being called. I just… I have to be here and help. It's the least I can do."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to med school to become a doctor."

"That was before I knew about all… this!" Claire waved her hand towards the hatch leading to Defiance. "It's sick and wrong, and I supported it! I've got to do something to make up for it."

"Claire, there are more ways to help than with a blaster," Jim said. "You were learning to be a doctor. A rebellion without access to standard medical facilities can always use a doctor."

"How much use would I be without those standard medical facilities, though? Besides, I don't think they need another mouth to feed. I think that _you _need help aboard the _Havoc_, being able to get supplies for these people."

For a second, he just stared into her eyes. Claire felt like he was examining her soul, looking for something that she wouldn't understand. Then he nodded. "Alright."

"Alright?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You can join the crew."

She pumped a fist in the air. "Yes!" she squealed. "I won't let you down, I promise!"

"And in light of that, you need some training," he continued. "It wouldn't be good if you died on your first mission because you didn't know how to use a blaster. But right now, we don't have enough time to start on that. We're about to enter the window for catching the ship transporting the Bodach'i slaves, and I can't delay that."

"That's fine," Claire said. "But I refuse to be useless. If you give me data on them, I'll do my best to figure out how to treat them."

"That would be fantastic, Claire. Blinky!" Jim called as they entered the living area.

The droid turned around from something he had been doing on the counter. "Yes, Master Jim?"

Jim motioned to her. "Can you help Claire here learn how to treat Bodach'i? It would be great if we had medical assistance ready for the ones that are undoubtedly injured, and I find that liberated Imperial slaves do not have a high opinion of droids."

"Absolutely. Come this way, fair Claire. Master Jim likely needs to prepare for his part in the mission." The ancient droid pulled her down a hallway, opposite of the one Jim went down.

Claire was confused. "What does he need to do to get ready? He's already in his armor, and he has his weapon."

"Yes, but Mandalorians have a plethora of extra equipment that prepares them for nearly anything. Master Jim is likely selecting what he would like to take with him and attempting to calm himself before we get there."

"Alright boys, and recently acquired girl, brace for liftoff," Toby's voice sounded over the comms.

She and Blinky grabbed onto whatever they could as the ship lurched under them, lifting them into the air. As soon as they could, they continued into a room that was filled with dataslates on one side and had mechanical parts neatly organized in boxes on the other. "This room belongs to Aaarrrgghh! and I," Blinky said. "I have already selected the dataslates with the relevant information and was ready to peruse them. I would be glad to share them with you."

Claire smiled in thanks. "Then let's get to work."

* * *

In the cockpit, Toby flipped a couple switches as they broke through the atmosphere of Ganthel. He heard the door open behind him, and Jim sat in the copilot's seat. His face was blank, as it always was before a mission.

"We're really taking Claire on, then?" Toby asked, letting the navicomputer calculate the jump for him.

Jim shrugged, not looking at him. "What else are we going to do? Besides, I've got a feeling. I think she's supposed to be here."

"Mh-hmm. And would this feeling be coming from the heart, or the great beyond?"

The deadpan look his best friend shot him was almost enough to make him laugh. "That's the weird part," Jim eventually answered. "For the first time in a while, I actually did get 'that' feeling. I think it's what drew me to her originally, even if I didn't know about it."

"And it definitely wasn't your eyes." Toby did laugh at the next look his longtime friend gave him. "But seriously, you think she was brought here by the cosmos?"

"Yes." The one word held so much conviction that Toby nearly stopped in his tracks.

After measuring Jim up, to see if he was serious, Toby shrugged. "Alright," he said. "But if this blows up in our faces, you know what I'll do."

Grabbing the lever between him and Jim, Toby tapped a button on the console and said, "Prepare for jump to hyperspace in three… two… one…" he pushed the lever forward, turning each star into a streak of light.

Turning to Jim, he said, "We'll be there in about an hour. If anything happens before then, I'll come tell you."

The Mandalorian nodded, staring out into hyperspace. Eventually, he stood up, grabbing his helmet. Without a word, he turned and left, leaving a bemused Toby behind him.

* * *

An hour later, Jim found himself in front of the airlock, ready to advance. All he was waiting for was Toby to find the ship and dock with it. "Toby, the ship should be here by now."

"I don't know what to tell you, Jimbo. There's nothing here," Toby said, sounding worried. "Do you really want to stick around? This has set-up written all over it."

"We stay until we know that there are no slaves beyond a shadow of a doubt, Tobes. We're not going to leave innocent people to slavery just because their transport was late," Jim growled into the comm.

"Alright. But if this does turn out to be a trap, I am so saying 'I told you so.'" Toby's exasperation was clear. A second later, he said, "Hold on, a ship just popped up. It's not Imperial, though. An Aurore-class freighter. Jim, that's a Zygerrian ship."

"It might not be an Imperial cargo ship, but I don't think there'd just be an innocent Zygerrian ship floating along an Imperial trade route. Take us in."

Claire's voice crackled over the comms. "I thought the Zygerrians weren't allowed to practice slavery anymore."

"The Empire is notorious for getting others to do their dirty work for them," Jim answered. He checked his Thunderer, making sure that it was in optimal condition for the tenth time. "They're all too happy to let slavers practice their trade as long as they get a share. It's only when they start getting selfish that the Empire cracks down on them."

Toby came back onto the comms, saying, "Alright, I fed them a line about how we were going to sell them Aaarrrgghh!. We'll be docking with them in a couple minutes. But Jim, I still don't like this."

"What choice do we have, Toby?" Jim asked, patting his sheathes to make sure he had all his vibroblades. "Just warn me before you open the door."

A minute later, Jim had started breathing exercises. He agreed with Toby; something felt off. But there was nothing that he could do about it. All he could do was prepare for whatever would come at him aboard the freighter.

"Opening the door in five. Give em' hell, Jimbo."

"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur," Jim muttered to himself.

The door opened, and two yawning Zygerrians were greeted not with a wookie but with a seven and a half foot horned Mandalorian warrior.

The first got a knife directly through his face, instantly falling. The other was able to get off a short yell before Jim wrapped an arm around his neck, leaving him gasping for breath and feebly jerking his limbs into Jim's armor until his movements gradually ceased.

Jim pulled his knife from the Zygerrian's skull with a wet _schilnk_, whispering into the comms, "Two down."

"That was fast," Claire said, surprise evident in her voice.

Toby sighed, saying, "There's a reason people fear the Mandalorians, Claire."

Jim ignored the both of them, creeping into the freighter. Greeted with darkness, he tapped the side of his helmet, bringing up thermal vision. "The lights are off, Toby," he muttered. "And I don't hear anything living."

The ship shuddered underneath his feet. "Shab!" He yelped. "Toby, did they just-"

Sighing, Toby cut him off, saying, "Disconnect and pull away? Yes, yes they did. I'm following them, but with you on board, I can't really do much."

The lights flicked on. Zygerrians jumped out of their hiding places behind various crates and walls, each one pulling out a blaster.

Leaving Jim in the center of a room with no cover and about ten blasters trained on him.

Slowly, he reached up and flicked off his thermal vision and flicked on his speakers. Another Zygerrian appeared on the catwalk above the cargo hold, and from his ornate clothing, it was obvious he was the leader. His face was stretched with a smug grin. "Well, well, well," his nasally voice grated on Jim's ears. "What do you know? A lone Mandalorian, just like the Imperials said. You know, you really should surrender. We could always use another slave, but it doesn't mean much to us if we deliver the Empire a smoking corpse to go along with the armor we promised."

Jim snorted. Then started chuckling, which became full blown laughter coming from his belly. The Zygerrians glanced at each other, puzzled and some looking more than a little nervous. "Stop that," hissed the leader. "Do you know who we are?"

"Do you know what you've done, di'kut?" Jim responded once his laughter had subsided. "You just trapped yourselves in a confined space with a fully armed Mandalorian. You're going to die, and I'm going to laugh at your stupidity."

The Zygerrian growled and yelled, "Open fire!"

Jim let the first volley strike him, only feeling mild discomfort at the way his armor heated up. The first shot he took was at the leader, vaporizing the right side of his with a crack of blaster fire.

He was moving before the body could even fall, leaping forward before they could target him for another volley. He pulled his vibroblade into his left hand as he charged forward, almost immediately driving it into a Zygerrian's chest. Jim threw the corpse over his shoulder and took his cover. He ducked down for a second, took a note of everyone's position, and began to act.

The next Zygerrian to pop up was the one closest to his own cover, but before he could fire, Jim blasted his head off. He sheathed his vibroblade and pointed his left fist at where he knew the next closest one was and pulled the fist down to activate the flamethrower.

The furred mammals began screaming, some trying to put the flames off, while others popped out of their positions, trying to get to the fire control systems. Jim blasted the two that tried before they could get near, watching dispassionately as their bodies skidded across the floor.

One Zygerrian screamed and vaulted over his crate, making a mad dash at Jim, firing his blaster every step of the way. Emboldened, the remaining slavers popped out of cover and started firing, giving out their own cries despite the fire raging around them. Jim snorted, popping a grenade out of a hip pouch and tossing it behind the crates.

He heard a scream of terror before the sound of sustained electricity reached Jim's ears. He was glad he packed the non-explosive grenades, given that this was a starship and he didn't want to blow through the hull.

The final Zygerrian vaulted over his crate, being met with a beskar covered fist to his face. He vomited on the floor, falling to the ground, and Jim simply held up his Thunderer and pulled the trigger. He surveyed the area, and once satisfied that there was no one other than him still alive on the ship, walked over to a panel and turned on the fire suppression systems. Into his comm, he said, "Toby, I've cleared out the ship. You're right, it was a trap, but I'll be going to the cockpit in a second and bringing the ship around. Hey, we could give it to Defiance so they finally have their own ship!"

He was answered with static. "Oh, shab," he muttered. Trying the other channels, he quickly found that they were also all filled with a jamming signal.

The ship shuddered, throwing Jim off balance for a second. As soon as he was stable again, he dashed for the cockpit. Once he was there, he slapped a hand over his faceplate. "Oh, Toby's never going to let me live this down."

Above him was a Star Destroyer, its belly drifting closer and closer as he watched, helpless in its tractor beam.

* * *

"We're leaving?! Why are we leaving?! Jim needs our help!" Claire screamed at Toby as he piloted them away from the Imperial capital ship that had just emerged from hyperspace.

"Claire, I'm good, but I can't take on an entire Star Destroyer by myself. Besides, Jim's a kickass Mandalorian with way more tricks up his sleeve than they're ready for, including a tracking device in his helmet. We'll follow him with that whenever he manages to escape." Toby tried to ignore her as he spun the ship around, trying to get away before the Star Destroyer noticed them.

He cursed when the computer alerted him to a squadron of TIE fighters on his tail. "Okay, Claire, I'm going to need you in the turret. Down back there, climb up the ladder." He tapped a button, "Blinky, need you in the bottom turret. We got a squadron of TIEs incoming."

Claire grumbled, but she ran over to the ladder anyways. She pulled herself up, finding herself in a swiveling turret. She found the TIEs quickly but wasn't sure what to do. "Toby, how do I do this?"

"Wha – really? You point at them and shoot when the computer tells you! Look at the screen in front of you and start blasting!" he yelled.

"Engaging," Blinky said over the comms. "And may I recommend that we not argue with each other as we try to escape death?"

Red bolts streaked towards the TIE fighters, forcing them to break formation. They retaliated quickly, though, with green blasts flying towards them. Claire yelped as the ship spun, avoiding the bolts, but she quickly grabbed hold of the sticks and jammed her thumbs on the triggers.

Her seat shook slightly as the cannon encasing her fired, grazing a TIE's wings and forcing it to pull away before it could score a hit. Determined, Claire leaned forward, keeping up her assault until she scored a direct hit on the cockpit, obliterating the fighter in a blaze of shrapnel.

She whooped, screaming, "I got one!"

"Great job, Claire, now don't get cocky!" Toby yelled back.

The ship shuddered, setting off flashing red lights in her turret. Claire refused to be distracted, though, and swung her turret around, firing at the first TIE to get in her sights.

"Entering hyperspace… now!" Toby yelled, and the stars around her stretched until they were white lines of light and the TIEs were nowhere to be seen.

Claire let go of the sticks, sitting back heavily in her seat. A giddy feeling arose within her. She helped protect her new crew, not hesitating when her target was in front of her.

She could _do_ this.

And then the other feeling crashed into her. The feeling of, oh force, she just killed someone. An actual, living person, with friends and family that will now miss them. She just _ended_ them completely and utterly.

She wanted to throw up. And the only person that she would even feel okay talking to about this was stuck aboard a Star Destroyer, fighting for his life, while his friends ran away.


	3. All According to Plan

**Disclaimer: Trollhunters belongs to Guillermo del Toro, Star Wars belongs to Disney.**

* * *

Jim took another step back, hunched over behind a crate in the dark. He was ready for any Imperial boarding teams, having turned off both the lights and life support in the Zygerrian ship and already decorating the ship with booby traps. His best bet was to get onto the Star Destroyer and get to its escape pods, because there was no way he was getting out of here on board a slaving ship.

The sound of superhot flames cutting through metal reaching his ears, making them twitch inside his helmet. Carefully adjusting his position, Jim took aim at the door, ready for whatever might pass through. As he watched, the door blew inwards, slapping flat onto the floor and screeching across it, its glowing edges dripping onto the floor. Then he caught sight of what came out in, and swung back around his crate, cursing silently.

Garbled speech rang out across the ship, lights clicking on as the Death Troopers boarded the ship. Jim hoped and prayed that they hadn't seen him, because he could not take a full squadron of Death Troopers enclosed as he was. Somehow, he needed to get past them onto the Star Destroyer. A quick look showed him that they had left two guards at the door, both with their guns up and ready.

Jim cursed again. Of course he would get stuck with the only Imperial troops that were actually competent. He looked down at the Thunderer in his hands, rolled his shoulders, and prepared to do one of the stupidest things that he had ever done.

Another garbled blast of speech sounded far too close to his crate for comfort, forcing Jim to settle back down until the Death Trooper passed by his hiding place. "Alright," he muttered. "K'atini, Jim. K'atini."

He sucked in a breath, then tapped into something that he hadn't used in a long time. Something coiled within him, resisting his call, but he dragged it out, knowing that he didn't have another choice. The crate in front of him lifted up a couple inches off the ground, making Jim sweat with exertion. Still, it was important that this was done silently, no matter how out of practice he was.

Jim sprung into the air, lashing out with a spinning kick into the crate. The sound of metal slamming into metal was all the warning the two Death Troopers guarding the entrance got before they were bowled over, slamming into the walls and ground. The Mandalorian seized his chance and set off in a dead sprint, coating his muscles with as much power as he could muster, which wasn't much. It was enough to pass by the super soldiers before they could get a word out or blast him, though, which was what was important.

His boots thudded heavily against the much lighter interior of the Star Destroyer as staticky words echoed behind him. Orange bolts passed by him with an oddly hard sound, the telltale report of the E-11D blaster rifle. Jim was jerked to the side when one of the bolts slammed into his back, but he managed to turn the momentum into a spin and keep going.

The lights in the Star Destroyer began to flash red, alarms sounding. "Alert," a female voice said. "Target is on board. Security teams to hangar deck. Turbolifts are being deactivated until further notice."

"Shab!" he barked out. That meant that he would have to crawl through the vents.

Rounding the corner, Jim found several Imperials in their gray service uniforms. They all gasped and yelled when seeing him, but he didn't slow down. None of them had weapons on them, so the Mandalorian put his arms up and crashed straight through them. The crack of bone as he impacted the first rang through hall, and the man gasped in pain when he was tossed into his crewmates, throwing them all into the walls. They were too busy groaning in pain to call in the sighting of the intruder.

"Where's my firfiek lightsaber when I need it?" he groaned to himself as he ran. Of course, he knew he had left it back on the ship, not wanting the Inquisitors to be called down on him in case someone that he didn't kill saw it.

Skidding through a doorway, Jim immediately began to scrabble back. The hangar bay he had dashed into was filled with at least fifty stormtroopers, all of which had just noticed him. Pulling out his Thunderer, he was able to fire off a couple vaporizing shots before the stormtroopers could react, and just as they began to fire back, the door closed in front of him. Pulling a grenade out of his belt, he tossed it on the ground, leaving the Imperials a nasty surprise whenever they came through the door.

As for his own efforts, though, Jim needed to find a vent and fast. He tried to recall the blueprints of Star Destroyers that he had seen, then nodded to himself and set off in another dash down the hall, his boots echoing as he went.

* * *

"Blinky, do we know which Star Destroyer that was?" Toby asked, not wasting any time once he entered the living area.

"Yes, I managed to identify it as the _Adjudicator_. Captained by Bular, a ruthless non-human Imperial of an unidentified species. He should be quite notable due to the lack of non-humans in the Imperial military, but virtually no one knows of him," Blinky said. He tapped the Holotable until an image came up of a black, bull-like alien resting on the knuckles of his large arms with the rank insignia of captain on his chest over a black armor.

"I know him," Claire said quietly.

They both turned to the girl, who was shakily holding a mug of hot chocolate. Aaarrrgghh! had wrapped a shock blanket around her and was sitting close to the trembling girl, warbling softly. "How?" Toby asked, skepticism clear in his voice.

"My mom is a governor. She used to bring me to all the big parties, hoping I would follow her and bring glory to the family name." Claire snorted. "Guess that's off the plate now. But that's not important. Bular is a barbarian who tries to appear civilized, though he knows little of tactics and has almost no appreciation of anything considered to be important by the high-class Imperial citizens."

Toby nodded, clapping his hands together. "Great. Anything on him physically?"

"He was really, really strong. Uh, and like, eight feet tall. He prefers melee weapons to ranged, calling people who use blasters cowards." Claire's eyes pointed towards the ceiling. The memories she was calling on were hazy at best.

"Alright, we need to pick up Jim as soon as possible. Blinky, has he turned on the beacon yet?" Toby swung around. He was fidgeting with his hands, as if unsure what to do with them.

"I'm afraid not, Tobias. As of now, we have no way of knowing of his condition." Blinky's four arms spread apologetically.

"Perfect," he muttered. "I told him. I _told _him. But what does he do? Go and play the hero, forgetting about the rest of us!"

Aaarrrgghh! roared something, Blinky nodding along. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to retire to your quarters, Tobias," he said. "This day has been trying, and we will no doubt need you at full capacity when we perform our usual daring rescue of Master Jim."

Toby nodded tiredly. He grabbed something from the pantry, then stalked off down a hallway, mumbling something to himself.

"Fair Claire," Blinky said, grabbing the girl's attention. Her eyes snapped to him, but they were unfocused and foggy. "How do you fare?"

"Hey, that rhymes," she said vacantly.

The droid exchanged a look with Aaarrrgghh!, somehow conveying worry despite not being able to form facial expressions. The Wookie pulled the girl closer, and she didn't protest. "I think I'm going to sleep now," she said, then promptly closed her eyes.

A lens spun out of Blinky's head, locking in front of his right eyes. The readings the girl was giving off labeled her as well and truly asleep. He nodded to Aaarrrgghh!, who carefully picked the girl up.

"_The first kill is always the worst,"_ the Wookie rumbled at him. _"Though painful, it is good that she does not take life lightly."_

"_Very true, my friend. We will speak to her of this when she wakes. Perhaps it will give her solace."_

Aaarrrgghh! gave him a curious look. _"Solace?"_ he questioned with a soft growl.

"_Comfort, consolation in times of distress and sadness," _Blinky clarified.

He nodded, pausing in front of a door as it opened. The room was the same one that Claire had been in the night before, spartan and uncolored. The Wookie carefully laid her down on the bed, tucking the sheets around her as she mumbled in her sleep and turned. They closed the door behind them, leaving the troubled girl in soothing darkness.

"_I will begin to search Imperial channels for anything regarding the _Adjudicator,_"_ Blinky told Aaarrrgghh!.

He nodded, briefly clapping the droid on his shoulder. _"I will be in the cockpit in case they are able to track us here."_

They both set off down separate paths, Blinky limping towards their operational room, and Aaarrrgghh! towards the cockpit. Blinky worried for his younger crewmates but had faith that they would pull through this challenge as they had the rest.

He would just have to make sure that he did his part so everyone else could do theirs.

* * *

A loud bang had Jim jerking up from his sleep, alert and scanning the area around him.

There didn't appear to be anyone near him, but just to be sure, Jim sniffed the air and listened as closely as he could. There was no one near enough for him to hear or smell, but there was one sense that he hadn't checked with. Taking a deep breath, Jim slumped against the wall, relaxing and forcing his perception outwards.

For a moment, nothing happened, and the only thing Jim could feel was his armor pressed into the durasteel walls of the dark room he was in. Then, he knew what was outside; nothing of importance in either the vents or just outside the door. With each breath, his mind expanded further, caressing every nook and cranny near him.

Then it came into contact with someone.

Rage slammed into his mind. A burning, seething rage so deep and intrinsic to the nature of the being that he felt it before he even felt its physical form. Jim gasped as his concentration was completely destroyed, the vague impression of a bull mixed with an ape implanted in his mind as he panted with exertion.

The floor above him shuddered. His eyes flicked up, knowing that was where the creature was. In a sickening moment of panic, Jim wondered if it had felt his mind.

Then distorted voice echoed through the dark hallways outside, barely making it to his helmet's receptors. He groaned to himself but got up anyways, stumbling slightly while he shook off the last vestiges of sleep. It was time to put his plan in action.

The plans that Jim had pulled up on his HUD after he remembered that they were downloaded were incredibly helpful. From his current position, it would take him a couple hours to get to an escape pod, with some time adjusted in case he ran into difficulties. Reaching up, he flicked the beacon in his helmet on.

Hopefully, if he did this right, the _Havoc_ would only have to be in the system for a couple minutes to pick him up and then they could book it the hell out of there.

Heavy boots clacked against the floor outside. Jim crouched behind the door silently, waiting until the Death Trooper came close enough for what he had planned. Three steps later, and he was just to the side of the door, none the wiser to Jim's presence.

With everything that he could muster, Jim slammed into the door, propelling it directly into the Death Trooper and launching him back through the hallway. He wasted no time following the trooper, jumping onto its chest and putting his Thunderer directly into its face.

The Death Trooper was barely able to slap the barrel aside before Jim pulled the trigger, turning the durasteel floor next to them into glowing red slag. It shoved its hands into Jim's chest, using its cybernetically enhanced strength to throw him off.

Jim placed his hands on the ground as he flew back, turning his motion into a backwards spring flip. He pulled the Thunderer back up, taking aim, but the trooper was on him before he could fire, knocking the gun to the side with his fist. Jim narrowed his eyes behind his helmet, using his other hand to punch the trooper in the side of his head.

A staticky yell came out of it, and it tried to use the rotation to throw a kick into his side. Jim caught it, twisting it and forcing the Death Trooper to spin in the air like a propeller. Like a bat, he swung its body into the wall. When it fell, he straddled its back, wrapping his arms around the trooper's neck and squeezing with all his might.

Static burst from its helmet as its hands clawed weakly at the ground. Jim's face was grimly set behind his visor, staring at the trooper slowly dying in his arms.

The scrabbling of its fingers slowed until they ceased. Just to be certain, Jim pulled off the trooper's helmet, staring at the face of a bald, dark-skinned man staring lifelessly to the side. Gritting his teeth, Jim planted his knee into the man's back and grabbed hold of his chin and the side of his head, snapping it to the side.

The brief cut-off scream from the soldier told Jim that he had been faking it. Now the soldier gasped, trying to move, but nothing from his neck down moved. Jim had walked a couple feet away, picking up his Thunderer.

The Death Trooper stared at the barrel. He spat at Jim's feet and said, "Go ahead, Mandalorian. The rest of the squad is on its way, and they'll finally be able to add the Stalker helmet to the collection."

Behind his visor, Jim's eyes narrowed, and he pulled the trigger.

Without sparing the smoking corpse another glance, he turned around and sprinted away, grabbing the discarded helmet on the way. He knew how Death Trooper squads worked, and that each of their helmets were connected, not to mention they had life sign readings and location markers on their HUDs for the rest of their squad. Jim jammed his Thunderer back into the holster now that it had had ample time to cool off, then pulled a cord out of his left vambrace and plugged it into the helmet.

He stopped for a second. Then started laughing. He could see out of each of their helmets. Pulling out a knife, he knelt down and dug the camera out, thankful that the location marker was in the armor. As soon as he had the camera, he crushed it in his hand, then turned on the comm system in his helmet.

"Bular is highly displeased," a female voice was saying. "We need to find that Mandalorian, fast. Otherwise he might start taking out his anger on the crew again."

"Acknowledged, Captain Nomura," four other voices chorused.

Jim tapped a button, cycling through their feeds. One of them was getting close to the corpse he had left. As they approached the body, he set off again at a brisk pace, keeping his senses as expanded as he could as he kept his eyes on their cameras.

The Death Trooper approached the corpse, tipping it over with his toe. "Confirmed; Barlon down."

"Anything missing?" the voice now identified as Nomura asked.

Jim climbed into a vent as quietly as he could. The trooper's camera swung around, and he said, "His helmet appears to be missing, though it could have been vaporized. The Mandalorian was using a T-6 Thunderer."

Another voice piped in. "That is more than capable of disintegrating our armor at close range."

"All the same, it may be best to switch over to another channel," the captain suggested.

Jim cursed mentally. Still, he couldn't resist snipping at them. Reaching up, he clicked on the voice synthesizer in his helmet. "Aww," his mechanized voice rang over the comms. "We were just starting to get to know each other."

One by one, the camera feeds turned to static. Jim sighed in disappointment. Those would have been useful.

"You may think you have the upper hand, mercenary scum," the captain hissed. "But you're on an Imperial dreadnought, surrounded by thousands of the Empire's finest. It's simply a matter of waiting to hear you scream."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Captain Nomura." His voice was playful. "Ready whenever you are."

Her channel turned to static in his ear.

* * *

"Tobias." Blinky's dual-layered mechanized voice woke Toby from his fitful sleep.

He sat up in his bed, stretching out his arms and yawning. "What, morning already?"

"No, it's only been seven hours. Master Jim has turned on his beacon," the droid said, standing at the foot of his bed.

Wide awake, Toby threw off his covers. "Why didn't you start with that?" he grumbled.

Blinky watched him as he ran around the room, trying to find his wool vest. He was already wearing his yellow shirt and brown cargo pants, not taking them off to sleep. A second later, he pulled it out with an "Aha!" and slipped it on.

"Alright, let's go. Where's Aaarrrgghh!?" he asked, stumbling out of his bedroom.

Blinky limped after him. "Awakening Claire."

Toby scoffed. "And what's she gonna do, have another breakdown if she manages to hit a TIE fighter?"

One of Blinky's lower hands landed on his shoulder. Toby sent a look at him, but Blinky didn't budge. "Tobias, I do not know what issue you have with the newest member of our crew, but I suggest that you set it aside until it can be properly dealt with," the droid chastised him.

Toby rolled his eyes, brushing Blinky's hand off. "Yeah, yeah. Getting Jimbo back is more important, don't worry."

As he walked into the common area, he grabbed a snack. It was always easier to pilot on a full stomach.

Jim watched through the grate as two officers walked beneath him, chatting about some inane skyhopper. He waited until their steps were nothing more than an echo through the hallway before he silently opened to vent and climbed out.

The escape pods were near enough that Jim could make it there in a few minutes, but he would need some time to override the lock they had most likely placed them under.

"Mandalorian!" A roar came from down the hall, echoing off the walls.

Jim cursed. Why did it always have to go this way?

Turning to face his newest aggressor, Jim came face to face with a large alien. Situated on the knuckles of its much larger forearms, with horns framing its face filled with sharp teeth and blazing red eyes, Jim instantly recognized its presence as the one he had felt before. Armor as black as its apparent skin covered it smoothly, with the insignia of the Empire over its right shoulder. It pulled out two massive vibroswords that were shaped as cleavers, taking a stance that left his chest open.

Jim scoffed to himself, pulled out his Thunderer, and shot it directly in its chest. Then did a double-take as the bolt fizzled out against a barrier of red energy that flashed a few feet in front of it. The alien's eyes flicked down. It snorted, then looked back up to Jim. "A coward's weapons will get you nowhere, Mandalorian. I am Bular, but you will know me as death!" it roared before charging him.

Behind his visor, Jim's eyes widened. Then he set his jaw and set his arms forward as if he meant to catch the beast. Bular grinned savagely, and he put his horns forward as he ran.

At the last second, Jim ducked down, avoiding the crosscut that Bular sent at him. He planted his shoulder in the alien's abdomen, then lifted up with all his might, using Bular's own momentum to get him to sail into the air.

Before the bull-like alien even hit the ground, Jim was already running. Bular's enraged roar was cut off by the explosion of air from his lungs as he hit the ground. The Mandalorian grinned to himself at the pained wheeze, until a Death Trooper stepped out from the corner that he was about to round. Scoffing to himself, Jim sped up, holding out an arm as he went.

His upper arm rammed straight into the super-soldier's faceplate, making them flip through the air backwards, slamming into the ground on their back. Jim skidded around the corner they came from, keeping as low to the ground as possible to move quicker.

A thunderous roar came from behind him, and a brief backwards glance revealed Bular pounding around the corner, following Jim. He groaned, palming his belt for a grenade before thinking better of it. He didn't want to waste something that might not even penetrate that monster's shield.

Oh, if only he had his lightsaber. Or a proper use of the force. Jim resolved to start meditating as soon as he could if he was going to start hitting bigger targets like this.

A ball rolling in front of him got his attention. "Oh, shab!" he yelled, barely having enough of a presence to kick it away as he scrabbled to a stop along the floor.

Incoherent noise echoed through the hallway as four Death Troopers scrambled to get away from the grenade clattering towards them. The explosion deafened Jim momentarily, but he could still feel Bular charging towards him from the shaking of the floor. As the beast came close to him again, his swords now sheathed along his back, Jim turned to him with his fists up.

And again, instead of taking a swing, Jim dodged the alien, this time flipping over and springing off his back. Just as his hearing returned, he heard a scream of static being abruptly cut off. Taking a second to expand his senses, he felt where each of his adversaries were, noting that there was one less Death Trooper. He took a deep breath before springing off into the smoke.

The comm system in his helmet beeped, shooting relief through him. Jim tapped it, saying, "What's up?"

"Oh, not much," Toby snarked back. "Just saving your shebs again. What is this, the thirteenth time this year?"

"Probably." An orange bolt streaked past his face. Without looking, Jim pointed his Thunderer back and shot. A mechanized yell told him that his force senses were still true.

"What the kark was that?" Toby asked. "That didn't sound like a stormtrooper."

"Apparently they sent out a Death Trooper squad just for me. I have to say, I'm quite honored," Jim quipped. Another roar from Bular bounced off the walls before the floor started shaking again, and Jim could feel his hatred snapping at his mind.

"That must be Bular," Claire's voice sounded through his helmet. She sounded subdued, making Jim frown.

"Oh, have you met?" Jim kept his voice lighthearted. "I've only just made his acquaintance."

She snickered, bringing a grin to his face. "Yeah, I remember him from a dinner a couple years back. I got the impression that he didn't exactly belong."

"Oh yeah, he's a real beast," Jim said. "Hold on one second."

He flipped on the microphone in his helmet. "Hey Bular, oh wait, death, how you doing back there?"

"Come back and face me like a warrior, you coward!" the alien yelled in response.

Anger pricked at his nerves before Jim forced it down. "Yeah, I know the difference between courage and stupidity, thanks," he said. "Now, if you want to reschedule sometime in a more neutral environment, I'd be happy to accommodate you."

Bular's answering roar as Jim flicked the microphone back off was enough to make Claire lose it. "Hey, pay attention," Toby said over the comm. "We're gonna be up to our eyes in TIE fighters as soon as Jim launches."

"Yeah, about that," he said as he dived to the side, barely avoiding Bular's furious slash. He used his momentum to go into a roll, grabbing vibroknife as he did. "There's no way I'm getting to an escape pod. So, uh, your target's going to be significantly smaller."

A muffled curse came from Toby. "Jimbo, you don't have a jetpack anymore."

"I don't see any other options, Tobes."

Claire interjected, saying, "What are you about to do?"

Jim jerked to the side to avoid the cleaver now planted in the hull of the ship. "I'm jumping out a window," he said, putting his knife through Bular's hand as he tried to pull the cleaver back out.

As the beast roared in pain, retracting back, Jim grabbed the hilt of the cleaver and pulled it out. While Bular was able to wield it with one hand, it was more of a two-handed sword for him. The bull-like alien yanked the knife out of his hand before snarling at Jim.

In response, Jim held up the cleaver. He just had to distract him long enough to get around him and find a window.

"You're going to _what?_" Claire yelled.

In response, Toby sighed. "This isn't the first time, but normally it's not a Star Destroyer. And normally he has a way of actually pushing himself through space!" The last part was directed at Jim.

He winced, then blocked an arm-numbing strike from Bular. "It'll be fine," he said lightly. "I believe in you, Tobes."

Grumbling was all that came over the comm. Jim used put a hand behind the blade of his cleavers, blocking another slice from Bular. He threw a quick horizontal slash, lamenting that he couldn't perform his usual brand of sword fighting. The alien drew back, just enough for Jim to spring through an opening. He rolled along the ground, pushing himself into a sprint.

As Bular was wont to do, he roared his anger to the whole ship, then rumbled after Jim. However, Jim already knew he was free. He tapped his helmet, activating the vacuum seal, then said to Toby, "About to breach."

"Already on our way. Try not to bring anyone else with you." He could hear Toby flicking switches as he spoke.

Skidding around a corner, Jim saw the window. A squad of stormtroopers was there, yelling for him to stop as they saw him. Savagely grinning behind his minor, Jim shielded his head with his arms and used as much of the force as he could to strengthen his legs.

One of the stormtroopers yelled when he realized what Jim was about to do, and he could hear Bular roar before something dug into the floor behind him and his quaking steps ceases.

Jim smashed straight through the window. The sudden vacuum gave a deafening roar as it propelled Jim out into the void even faster, carrying the screaming stormtroopers with him. As he spun, the Mandalorian caught a brief glimpse of Bular. Feeling a rush of victory, he saluted him as an Imperial would salute their superior. While he couldn't hear him, the way his maw gaped told Jim enough.

"I see you... That's a lot of stormtroopers. Might get a couple of them with you," Toby said.

Jim rolled his eyes, seeing the _Havoc _speeding towards him. "They're already dead, Tobes. Besides, we might be able to use the armor for other jobs."

The ship spun, presenting its back to Jim, just as the cargo bay doors opened. Jim braced for impact with the hull as he was swallowed. His breath exploded out of him as he came into contact with the wall, and Claire asked, "Jim? Are you okay?"

Artificial gravity turned back on, dropping a gasping Jim to the floor. "Yeah," he groaned. "Hitting a ship at that speed hurts a bit."

"You might want to brace again, Jimbo. There's a buttload of TIEs on our tail, and there's only going to be more coming out," Toby warned.

Jim rolled over and grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder that led to the rest of the ship. A moment later, the hull around him shuddered and a force pulled on him, but he held firm. The force passed, allowing him to breathe again.

"Another daring rescue by the greatest pilot this side of the galaxy." Toby's voice was smug. "So, how've you been, Jimbo?"

All the adrenaline that had been flowing through him had flushed out of his system. He could feel burns where the Death Troopers' blasters had hit his armor, and his whole body ached from the impact with the ship. He gave a low groan, slightly curling in on himself. "Lemme get back to you on that," he breathed.

"Jim? What's wrong?" He could hear Claire's voice through his comm, but it wasn't computing for some reason. Probably because of how tired he suddenly was.

The cargo room door opened, and Jim caught six blinking eyes staring down on him before he passed out.

* * *

"What happened to him? Is he okay?" Claire asked, grateful for something to take her mind off recent events.

Aaarrrgghh! had taken Jim to his room, where they all currently were. He was resting on his bed, his chest rising and falling every couple seconds. Blinky had pulled his helmet off and was feeling various parts of his body.

Blinky didn't take his eyes off Jim as he responded. "As you can see, Master Jim is much larger and stronger than humans. As such, he has a much faster and more demanding metabolism. It's been roughly a day since Jim entered the Star Destroyer, which means he is probably both starving and exhausted. Fortunately, this is not the first time this has happened, so we have the necessary equipment to help him. Aaarrrgghh!?"

The Wookie made a noise of acknowledgement. Blinky gestured towards Jim, saying, "I need you to lift him up so we can get his armor off. We need to get an IV in him and treat the burns that are no doubt decorating his back."

Aaarrrgghh! nodded, grabbing Jim's shoulders and lifting him into a sitting position. Blinky lifted up his left arm with both of his right arms, unbuckling the armor with his free arms. He gave Claire a look, and asked, "Well? Aren't you going to help?

"What? Oh, um, yeah!" Claire got on his other side, putting his right arm over her shoulder so she could get at the armor under it.

They worked in silence for a moment before they were able to pull off all the armor on his torso, and Blinky grabbed the body glove under it and pulled. It came apart at the neck, and Claire's face instantly went red.

'_Holy shab,'_ she thought. _'He's shredded. And really, really, scarred.'_

Jim's body was muscular in a lithe way. There was no fat to hide anything, leaving all his muscles completely exposed. However, there were burn marks all over his body. Some of them didn't even look like blaster marks; they were extraordinarily long burn scars, as if a blaster had grazed along the length of his torso.

"Claire?" Shocked out of her staring, she looked up at Blinky, who gave the impression of a raised eyebrow. "Are you quite done? We need to treat him."

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm good." Her face felt like it was on fire.

Blinky nodded to Aaarrrgghh!, who gently turned over Jim's body to lie on its side. Claire winced at the circular burns on his back. "How can he take blaster bolts straight on?" she asked, already reaching for the disinfectant.

"Beskar, or Mandalorian iron, is an extremely strong material. It is able to completely resist lightsabers, and blaster bolts will do nothing more than heat it. However, skin generally does not stand up well against heat. Usually, the only way to kill a Mandalorian is either to aim for the weak spots or cook them inside their armor," Blinky said, slipping into teaching mode as they worked together.

"Why would you know how to kill a Mandalorian?" Claire asked. She picked up a bacta bandage, opening it and smoothing it over the burn on his right shoulder.

"Why, the Mandalorian Wars, of course. I had to teach the Jedi younglings how to defeat their enemies with their new lightsabers."

"You're a Jedi droid?" Claire's voice was incredulous. "I didn't know they used droids to teach."

"Most do not. Besides, there are only a very small mount of us left by now. Only I and Professor Huyang were left by the end of the Clone Wars, and I doubt Huyang's continued existence," Blinky said somberly.

Aaarrrgghh! warbled from the corner. Blinky said something back to him in his guttural tongue, then gently turned Jim to lay on his back. "Now for the IV. Aaarrrgghh!, if you could retrieve the fluids from the cargo bay?"

He roared in acknowledgement, leaving them alone. Claire stared at Jim's sleeping face, marveling at how peaceful he seemed. Running her fingers along his face, she tucked some of his hair behind his ear and smiled.

"You care for him, don't you?" Blinky asked.

"I… don't really know. I thought I did, back when I was just a barista at his favorite café. Now, I see everything he does, and he's not really who I thought he was. Not in a bad way, though. I think he's actually better," she said. "But I don't know him. And he doesn't know me. Not yet."

A mechanical hand rested on her shoulder. Blinky's flickering eyes stared into hers, and he said, "There's plenty of time for that, do not worry. I will warn you, though, Jim's past is brutal, complicated, and filled with trials and tribulations. He may hide much of it, thinking it a burden on others. You will need to be patient with him if you desire any sort of relationship with him, friendship or otherwise."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Blinky. I'll keep that in mind."

Aaarrrgghh! walked back through the door, carrying poles and bags of fluid. He rumbled at them, and Blinky grabbed a pole in each arm and began to assemble a stand. Claire took the back and needle from him, ripping open the bag it was in before attaching it to the fluid bag. She waited for Blinky to hang it from the stand before feeling the inside of his elbow.

Finding a vein, she took the needle and poked it. Then blinked and poked harder. "Why is the needle not going in?"

"Master Jim's people have a much hardier body than most, Claire. You will need to apply a great deal of pressure to break through."

She nodded, then took the needle with both hands and pushed. It took her several seconds, but eventually it sank in. Blinky tapped a button on the IV wire, beginning the transfer. Flipping open a scanner to make sure that it was working properly, the droid nodded to himself, then said, "Perhaps we should let Master Jim rest now. I will be alerted when he awakes."

"I'll be right out, Blinky. Just give me a moment," she said.

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh! walked out, letting the door shut behind them. The room was only dimly lit, but that didn't stop Claire.

Ever since she had walked in, there had been a whisper at the back of her mind. As if something was calling to her, telling her that it was there. As quietly as she could, Claire opened Jim's bedside cabinet.

Resting in front of her was a long black metal cylinder, the length of her forearm. She picked it up, hefting it slightly. It had a strange weight to it, and its touch brought a feeling of rightness. It was armored in places, claws coming from what she assumed to be the top. Her hand brushed against a button as she felt around it. Curious, she pressed down on it.

A round, glowing black blade sprung from the hole between the claws with a snap-hiss. Claire's eyes widened. She pressed the button again, watching as the blade disappeared with a hum. Staring at the lightsaber, her mind going a thousand miles an hour, she recalled earlier when he had defended the Jedi. Putting two and two together, the honors student realized what it meant.

Jim was a Jedi.

* * *

**Up next: Claire and Jim have a chat, and Claire learns that she has a much greater potential than she originally thought.**


End file.
